A human rights lawyer, Tope Temokun, has petitioned the Inspector-Basic of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over the dealing with of the kidnapping and trafficking of a five-year-old lady in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Within the petition, Temokun additionally copied the Chairman of the Police Service Fee (PSC), Governor Fortunate Aiyedatiwa, and the Director-Basic of the Nationwide Company for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Individuals (NAPTIP).
The lawyer accused the Ondo State Police Command of trying to undermine the investigation into the case. In response to him, the kid was kidnapped a number of months in the past, trafficked from Akure to Onitsha, Anambra State, and later offered in Asaba, Delta State, for N4.05 million.
Temokun alleged that the police had been shielding the primary suspect, a well-liked restaurant proprietor in Akure, who was reportedly the final individual seen with the kid earlier than her disappearance.
The petition adopted a press release by the Ondo State Police Command that one Sunday Kingsley of Alagbaka Extension, Akure, had reported the lady lacking, resulting in a case being filed earlier than the Household Justice of the Peace Court docket and the following remand of the kid’s mom on the Ondo Correctional Centre.
Temokun criticised the police assertion, issued on September 25, 2025, with reference quantity AZ:5280/ONS/PPRO/VOL.1/298, describing it as a “deliberate distortion of info.” He alleged that it misrepresented the sequence of occasions, omitted essential particulars, and suppressed key investigative leads, together with the names of people already recognized as suspects.
“This deliberate misrepresentation erases the true complainants from the narrative, thereby concealing essential leads within the investigation,” Temokun acknowledged. “The omission of Mrs Happiness Sunday, in whose custody the kid was final seen, and Vivian Ngozi, recognized as a principal accent, additional confirms the deliberate suppression of info by the Ondo State Police Command.”
The lawyer urged the IGP, the Ondo State Authorities, and the general public to intervene to make sure justice for the sufferer and her household. He additionally demanded the quick and unconditional launch of the kid’s mother and father, an intensive and clear investigation into the trafficking community, and the immediate prosecution of all suspects.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Ayanlade Olayinka, confirmed that the case was reported by the kid’s stepfather and that detectives had rescued her in Asaba after monitoring the suspects.
“It’s not a case of abduction. It’s a case of human trafficking and stealing,” Olayinka stated. “The investigation is clear sufficient, and the data are there. Anybody can entry them in writing. Individuals ought to respect the police’s efforts.”
